Most of the sodium and chloride in the diet comes from salt. It has been estimated that 75% of the salt intake in the U.S. is derived from salt added during food processing or manufacturing, rather than from salt added at the table or during cooking.

 

The lowest salt intakes are associated with diets that emphasize unprocessed foods, especially fruits, vegetables, and legumes.

 

Examples of foods that are high in salt are canned chicken noodle soup, canned macaroni and cheese, salted potato chips and pretzels, ham, and corned beef.

 

Since the majority of sodium (Na) and chloride (Cl) intake comes from salt (NaCl), dietary salt content can be estimated by multiplying sodium content by 2.5 (example: 2 g sodium x 2.5 = 5 g salt).